Too young to sex?

[VioletEmber]

Hi!

I got two GBRs at the LFS and the guy said they were too young to sex. I had left my phone in the car so couldn't look up pictures... And I think I have two females.









One has a very faint black spot but a nice pink belly. The other one with the darker black spot. The other one has less of a sloping belly but I still think she is a she. Any input?

 

[Gillie]

one is definitely female the other would require a better pic, but if they formed their territory around that flat stone it may likely be a pair.

 

[VioletEmber]

one is definitely female the other would require a better pic, but if they formed their territory around that flat stone it may likely be a pair.

In both pictures the one on the left is the one that I think is female for sure - is that the one you mean? The one on the right has blue shining through the black on the spot, so I think I have two ladies. I'll try to get a better pic once the sun is up.

 

[VioletEmber]

Ok- need help! One of the two died and so I need to know who I have so I can get her/him a mate.

 

[VioletEmber]

I'm just going to keep posting pictures until someone answers!

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Looks like a female to me. Id double check water parameters before getting another ram. They are quite touchy in the begining. How did you acclimate them?

 

[VioletEmber]

I have 0 amm, 0 nitrites and 20 ish nitrates. I need to go check the ph. How long does it take a fish to totally acclimate? The woman at the LFS said that the stress of acclimating weakens a fish's immune system and therefore even if you drip acclimate the best you can - if it's enough of a change, they can still die a week or two out. Made sense to me. She tested the tank at the store and it was just under 7ph so I'll check mine to see how different.

The other possibility is that she was being stressed by the flame gourami that's in there who seems to think the whole tank is his. He likes to dive bomb the neon tetras and they scatter. I may decide to move him or rehome him. I got him because I assumed I would have a male/female pair and they would hold their own. Since they were both female maybe he was able to divide and conquer.

Aquariums are the most fascinating and intricate game of tetris ... Chemistry, art, biology and animal behavior...

 

[BHead707]

change your water imo, GBRs are more sensitive to nitrates than other fish try to keep as low as possible

 

[Cichlid Kid]

I agree. 20 trates is to high. For other fish that would be acceptable but not for gbr's.

 

[VioletEmber]

I agree. 20 trates is to high. For other fish that would be acceptable but not for gbr's.

Oh thank you!!! So much to learn! Did a water change just now and will test again in a bit. Thanks for the info!